NEW AIRE IN MONTELIMAR

The town of Montelimar in the Rhone-Alpes region of southern France, famous for its nougat, has recently constructed a new aire de services. This modern aire is in a medium sized gravel parking place next to a wooded area giving shade in places & about 500m from the centre of town where there is a good range of shops, services plus a 12^th century castle & palace. The aire can accommodate 17 vehicles, has an artisanal service point with drainage platform & costs 4€ per night. See our sites directory for full details.

NEW GARDEN AT CLOS LUCE

The Château du Clos Lucé in Amboise, Indre-et-Loire, where Leonardo da Vinci lived the last year's of his life, has just inaugurated a brand new garden aptly titled: "Leonardo's Garden". This 4 acre area illustrates just how much the Italian genius was inspired by nature for his research (for instance, Leonardo da Vinci learned the great principles of flying from paying close attention to birds). The new garden boasts botanical drawings, geological studies and brings to life the landscapes of the Tuscan master, which have been restored and feature some thirty different species of unique plants from the Renaissance time period -- the garden is now much how Leonardo would have seen it.

LA LOIRE A VELO

Traveling along the banks of the Loire is the way to come across some unexpected places and sublimely beautiful countryside. Discovering them by bicycle is a very pleasant and special thing to do. The entire route is signposted in both directions, and boards at the start and current end of the route show where it begins and ends. The tourism office of the Loire Valley has produced a set of maps together with a route description for cycling from Tours to Villandry, Villandry to Rigny-Usse & Rigny-Usse to Candes-St-Martin. These maps & guides can be downloaded from their website at www.tourism-touraine.com or they can be ordered for free delivery by post on the same site.

PASSEPORT PRIVILEGE 2008

Gers Tourism in the Midi-Pyrenees is offering a booklet of discount vouchers for various attractions within their department. They range from discounted tickets to the Mirande Country Music Festival, reduced tariffs at Jazz in Marciac, discounts at many museums & attractions, & 10% reduction on a nights stopover at ten different campsites in Gers. To get a copy of this booklet simply see our Special Offers page.

And in REIMS …..

If you are visiting Reims then why not take advantage of their City Card. This privilege card can be purchased for 15€ from the Office de Tourisme on Boulevard Pommery & offers the following advantages:

A visit to one of the city's Champagne houses -- tasting included.

A visit to the Cathedral Notre Dame -- audio guide included

And choose one of the following:

A trip on the city's "Little Tourist Train" or reduced cycle hire or a visit to Museum of the Vine or a free audio guide to one of Reims other attractions.

NEW AIRES

For those of you needing a stopover on the A75 autoroute; Marvejols in Lozere( between junctions 38 & 39), has just opened a new aire de services in the town centre at parking Pre-Suzon. The aire has 8 spaces reserved for motorhomes & a service point.

Another new aire was opened last year at Lanouialle in the Dordogne. It is peacefully located in Place de la Bascule, in the town centre near to the Fire Station, has a Euro-Relais service point, toilets & parking is allowed for up to 48 hours.

Finally; the aire at Bagneres-de-Bigorre, in the Hautes-Pyrenees department has for some reason been moved from the town centre to an industrial estate, 2km from the town.